Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Families, Housing and Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

The objective of the Social Security Amendment (Flexible Participation Requirements for Principal Carers) Bill 2010 is to alter the provisions for granting exemptions to parents or principal carers who are asked to look for part-time work as part of their welfare requirements. This bill follows the Participation review taskforce report, published in August 2008, which outlines a series of participation requirement changes designed to increase flexibility. The report was subsequently actioned in the 2009-10 budget measure ‘More flexible participation requirements for parents’.

Essentially, the bill alters or creates exemptions available to principal carers on income support. The exemption for principal carers undertaking home schooling or distance education will be available until the youngest child leaves school up until the age of 19 years, which is up from the current 16 years. Secondly, the exemption for large families will be available where the family has four children of school age up to 19 years, again an increase from the current 16 years. Thirdly, the domestic violence exemption is currently only available where a party has left the violent relationship. The bill will see family breakdown no longer being a necessary precondition for receiving an exemption. A new exemption for kinship care is granted that allows for principal carers where there is a care plan prepared or accepted by a state or territory government. Job seekers who provide emergency or respite foster care will have an extended exemption to cater for the period of care and subsequent time to support their availability for future care. From 1 July 2010, a parent will be able to count their study, voluntary work or part-time work, or a combination of these, towards meeting part-time participation requirements.

Mutual obligations are of key importance in making welfare a disincentive for those seeking to avoid work and be supported by hardworking Australian taxpayers. Mutual obligations play an equally important role in breaking the cycle of idleness and habits of apathy. The obligations allow people to give back—in return for welfare assistance, they provide people with new experiences, including positive work experiences. Hardworking Australian taxpayers will be angered by the Rudd government’s watering down of mutual obligations. This is bad policy from a weak government. Under the previous coalition government those on income support not meeting participation requirements fell to below 10 per cent, according to industry participants. The coalition’s more rigorous and consistent approach to mutual obligation had a positive impact on returning the unemployed to the workforce.

According to DEEWR, in December 2003, 74 per cent of Newstart allowance recipients had an obligation to work. This has now dropped to some 58 per cent. In December 2003, 480,449 Newstart allowance recipients received a payment. In December 2009 the figure was 544,776. According to industry sources, the number of individuals on income support gaining exemptions from mutual obligation requirements has increased from a low of less than 10 per cent under the previous coalition government to in excess of 30 per cent in some areas. The total number of penalties imposed has fallen from 32,000 in 2007-08 to only 19,406 in 2008-09. Since July 2009 there have been only 12,283 penalties, and only 4,353 of them involved the most severe penalty of loss of benefit for eight weeks—‘three strikes and you are out’ is simply not being applied.

From 1 July some unemployed people will not even have to get out of bed to claim their welfare. The government’s approach means they will not have to hand in their forms in person at Centrelink offices. Instead, Newstart recipients will be able to report online or by telephone. Under the previous coalition government the ‘work for the dole’ time frame was six months of benefits. But now, under Labor, it has been extended from six months to 12 months. Indeed, the number of participants undertaking work for the dole has been cut in half by the Rudd government. As of 7 April there were 12,695 unemployed people in work for the dole schemes, down from 22,362 in April 2005.

Whilst the coalition does not oppose this bill, the government should do more to monitor and enforce participation requirements for those on income support. I foreshadow that the coalition may seek to introduce amendments to this bill in the Senate. The weakening of mutual obligation is bad policy from a weak government.

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